Dodge owners sue over rear differential problems
There are several Dodge owners filing a class action lawsuit against the Manufacture. The lawsuit states that the FCA US failed to mention that the 2015-2019 models of the Dodge Challengers and Chargers with a V8 engines are equipped with a defective rear differential that is too weak to handle the vehicles power. The issue doesn't stop at the Challengers and Chargers, as it carries on over to certain Charger Hellcats, Challenger Hellcats and Demons as well.
There have been six Dodge owners that have come forward to file this class action lawsuit that stems all the way back to 2015. Both Dodge Challenger and Charger owners have filed claims stating that they hear sounds of howling, whining, cracking sounding, and whirling from the differentials, customers are also complaining about the vibrations coming from the rear, these comments are a clear warning sign that the differentials aren’t sufficient for the powertrain and torque output loads being delivered by the engine and transmission.
The Dodge Challenger and Charger are equipped with Chrysler's Street & Racing Technology and holds the (SRT) badge, this is because these cars were meant for both street legal driving and for handling the track elements, however that doesn't seem to be true as the six plaintiffs state that these cars are to dangerous to be driving on public roads, the reasoning being that is because due to the failure of the rear differential, it will cause the car to suddenly stop, which could cause a serious auto accident. To make things even worse, it is reported that the rear differentials could also allegedly explode and send pieces of shrapnel into the undercarriage, which in return can cause server damage to the important components underneath the car. With all of these issues with these cars, it can cause great stress on the owner and not only that but be costly for owners as the expense of new rear differential is not cheap.
To make things even worse, as if they were not already is that the class action lawsuit alleges customers have found metal shavings and particulates that contaminated the differential oil system, which resulted in friction and heat, this can damage the differential as well.
To top things off, as you read the Dodge class action lawsuit, the Chargers and Challengers decreased in value due to the rear differential issues, this is whether the customer is an owner or on a lease agreement. Car dealerships are even allegedly replacing defective rear differentials with equally defective differentials that fail just like the originals which is just prolonging the inevitable. So if you're a owner of one of these cars and have these related issues, please be careful and always do your research first.
This rear differential lawsuit alleges the cars were defective from the time they were sold because the differentials wear out and cause failures of the ring gears, pinion gear differential housings and axles.
We are aware that the claims stated in these lawsuits are just claims, we’re not saying that any of the statements in this article is true. We leave it up to you to do your own research and we realize you will have your own opinions on this class action lawsuit.
The Dodge rear differential class action lawsuit was filed on June 24th in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and is called Diaz, et at., v. FCA US LLC. We’ll see if this amounts to anything substantial or not.
As customers keep coming forward about these issues, Chrysler has issued a technical service bulletin related to the differential problems. This bulletin references to 'TSB 03-001-15' which covered the '2015 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Dodge Challenger.' If you read the TSB, you can see that it says “a slight noise of vibration from the rear of the vehicle.” You can read the bulletin below.
Here is A Dodge Rear Axle Differential Technical Service Bulletins
The Dodge rear differential lawsuit references technical service bulletins (TSBs) issued by the automaker to its dealerships which allegedly prove the cars have rear differential problems.
In May 2015, FCA issued TSB 03-001-15 regarding 2015 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Dodge Challenger cars concerning “a slight noise of vibration from the rear of the vehicle.” Chrysler dealers were told to replace both rear half shafts.
The bulletin was revised, and dealerships were told about “a slight shake/vibration felt in the seat and/or floor, generated from the rear of the vehicle” and that it was “most noticeable on very smooth roads, at steady-state cruising speeds 50-80 mph.”
TSB 03-004-16 was issued in June 2016 involving the same vehicles but expanding the model years to include 2016. Dealers were told to inspect and replace the propeller shaft due to a whining noise coming from the real axle area at high speeds.
In December 2016, TSB 03-008-16 addressed rear axle noise in 2015-2017 Chrysler 200, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger vehicles. Dealerships were told to replace the axle oil on limited slip differentials.
Then in March 2017, TSB 9003655 concerned noise from the rear axle when performing tight turning maneuvers for 2015-2016 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger and 2017 Dodge Charger cars. The TSB recommended draining and refilling the oil.
The Dodge class action lawsuit alleges Charger and Challenger owners can spend thousands of dollars to replace the rear differentials, not counting the cost to replace other damaged components.
The Dodge rear differential class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware: Diaz, et at., v. FCA US LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by Berger Montague PC, Capstone Law APC, and Gordon & Partners, P.A.
Here is what a Dodge Demon Owner said on Hellcat.org.
Source:
- MC-10148944-9999.pdf (nhtsa.gov)
- Class Action Lawsuit List: Hood Scoop and Rear End | SRT Hellcat Forum
This article was first on Gear Head on January 5, 2022.
